It is well known that hydronic baseboard finned tube heaters typically include a copper tube or pipe that receives heated water or a water-based solution including antifreeze, etc., and heat moves from the water by conduction through the copper and into heat diffusion fins secured to the copper pipe or tube. The fins are frequently made of aluminum and it is not unusual to have five or more two-inch fins per inch of copper pipe. Most often the finned copper tube is supported within a metal enclosure by metal brackets extending from an adjacent vertical wall near the floor of a habitable building, such as a dwelling house, commercial building or similar structure. The metal enclosure also includes a top metal cover and a front metal panel running along and overlying the finned tube heaters.
The front panel and top cover of the enclosure define air inlet slots below the finned tubing and air outlet slots above the tubing to thereby generate a “chimney effect”, wherein cool air enters below the finned tubing; is heated by the finned tube heaters; and rises by convection out of the air outlet slots to ascend adjacent the vertical wall. This produces a cycling effect wherein the rising hot air forces cooler air to descend toward the floor and eventually back into the inlet slot of the hydronic finned tube heater enclosure.
It is most common that such hydronic baseboard finned tube heater enclosures are constructed of metal brackets and metal panels because of the lower costs of manufacture with metal compared to use of more durable and more expensive materials. In large apartment buildings and virtually all modern home, construction that utilize heated water or hydronic heating systems, metal brackets and metal enclosures are utilized to minimize costs. It is common that, such metal bracket and enclosures are available in pre-measured incremental sections, such as two-foot, four-foot, or eight-foot sections that may be combined for varying heat demands and floor plan limitations. These metal enclosures for hydronic finned tube heaters are limited in available colors; are often considered to be quite unsightly; and, are susceptible to rust and denting that makes them even more unsightly.
Efforts have been undertaken to improve the aesthetic appearance of such metal enclosures by simply removing the metal front panel and inserting a wooden cover that is dimensioned to shield from view the metal brackets and the finned tube heaters. While these provide a modest improvement, they commonly are so bulky, and available only in predetermined lengths, that they are difficult to install along an entire finned tube heater to achieve a desired effect. Moreover, such wooden covers are frequently more attractive than practical. They are often designed with a plurality of lateral heat diffusion slots that disrupt the favorable “chimney effect” achieved by matched lower inlet and upper outlet air slots, thereby increasing overall heating costs. Exemplary wooden enclosures may be available from a company entitled “RUNTAL NORTH AMERICA, Inc.”, as disclosed at a website having a domain name of: runtalnorthamerica.com. However, these have not received widespread acceptance in the marketplace because they are complex, and once installed, very difficult to remove for maintenance and cleaning of the finned tube heaters within the enclosures.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved hydronic heating system that overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art.